Upcoming PBS special on bit rot

From: jpero_at_cgo.wave.ca <(jpero_at_cgo.wave.ca)>
Date: Tue Jan 13 20:11:12 1998

Thank you...

I was able to see that I have it in TV listing, BUT from recent ice
storm knockout, all channels working execpt for one channel, I was
not able to watch PBS that evening. Boo Hiss!

I would like to ask; what's else that have been discussed in that
program?

Good taken on these 2 points through. But we use acidic papers that
self-desructs in few years. I heard a librarian lingo: dead books,
that is given when a book page is easily broken like a briscuit thin
wafer when a corner is folded and creased, corner falls off.
There's Bit rot, alumium oxidizing in 100's of cd's, etc.

Thanks!

Jason D.
> I caught the PBS special tonight;
>
> For info on a videotape of the program, call 800-472-1500, or write;
>
> American Film Foundation
> PO Box 2000
> Santa Monica, CA 90406
>
> The program was very interesting. Its main focus was on the social
> implications of the storage of data in digital format, and its inherent
> vulnerability compared to traditional mediums (stone, paper, etc.).
> Most of the emphasis was on how future history will be affected by our
> digital world; very little time was spent explaining the technical
> issues involved. The program ended in a very open ended manner; no
> solution to the problems seems clear.
>
> A couple of interesting points made:
>
> 1) When we create information using a digital medium, we seldom preserve
> the working copies of our documents, and so the historical record of the
> development of significant works is lost. Makes me think of music, and
> how much we have learned of classical composers by studying the rough
> drafts of their works.
>
> 2) People who work in the computer industry generally percieve
> themselves as pioneers who are creating a new future, and therefore
> throw off the old. As a result, very little emphasis is placed on
> storing or cataloging the vast quantities of digital data generated.
> This trend is complicated by the fact that storage mediums are
> constantly changing.
>
> Grant Zozman
> gzozman_at_escape.ca
>
Received on Tue Jan 13 1998 - 20:11:12 GMT